Are Laboratory-Grown Diamonds Ethical?
In recent years, we've been increasingly asked about laboratory-grown diamonds: Are they ethical? How do they differ from natural diamonds? Which option is better for investment? Laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, synthetic, artificial, fake and simulant: there are many confusing labels in jewellery marketing and on discussion forums. Are they the same thing?
Many jewellers shy away from addressing this topic due to its complexity and the often heated debates it sparks, preferring not to take sides. However, we believe our customers deserve access to all the information needed to make informed decisions. Transparency and honesty are at the heart of our values, and we are committed to upholding them.
To address these questions, we've compiled a blog article that provides clear, concise answers based on our current knowledge. As the diamond and gemstone industry continues to evolve, new information and developments may eventually render some aspects of this discussion outdated and, of course, this is just one opinion so please feel free to research other people’s perspectives. Rest assured though, we are committed to keeping you informed with the latest updates as they emerge.
1. What is the correct label for a diamond manufactured in a laboratory?
Laboratory-grown or laboratory-created are the correct labels and any diamond that has been manufactured in a laboratory must be clearly identified and labelled as such. It must not be misleading nor mistaken for a natural diamond. Usually jewellers and workshops handling both naturals and laboratory-created stones will keep the laboratory-grown diamonds in a separate room or part of the building to make sure there is no confusion and stones do not get mixed up by accident. Like many certified natural diamonds, laboratory-grown diamonds also have a serial number laser inscribed on their girdles and will start with LGXXX for lab-grown. This is usually only visible through microscope.
Synthetic diamonds: These are the same as laboratory-grown diamonds. They have the same properties as natural diamonds and they are manufactured in a laboratory. You can use this label but people find this confusing because it is closely associated with the word simulant which is very different. Laboratory-grown or lab-created is just plain, easy to understand and does not cause confusion.
Artifical diamonds: These are the same as laboratory-grown diamonds and, again, like synthetic diamonds you can use this to refer to laboratory-grown diamonds but sometimes it can be mistaken for simulant diamonds.
Fake diamonds: Fake diamonds are called diamond simulants, diamond imitations, or diamond accents. They are gemstones that are made to look like diamonds, but are chemically and structurally different. They can be both man-made or natural gemstones. This term often has a negative tone and some passionate people who label themselves as ‘purists’ preferring natural diamonds have used this term to refer to laboratory-grown stones in a negative way implying the stones are inferior or even fraudulent. (We did say this topic is heated!) This, however, is not accurate nor correct because laboratory-created stones have the same chemical and structural properties as their naturally occurring counterparts. Fake diamonds can include: cubic zirconia (CZ), moissanite, rhinestones, Swarovski cut glass, crystal, quartz, spinel, zircon, white topaz and white sapphire.
Simulant diamonds: A diamond simulant or imitation is a stone that mimics the appearance of a diamond. They imitate real diamonds eg. cubic zirconia or moissanite. They do not share the same physical or chemical properties of a natural diamond.
2. Do laboratory-grown diamonds look the same as natural diamonds?
Laboratory-grown diamonds have the same chemical composition and structural form as natural diamonds so yes they look the same. They are often whiter and have a higher clarity as they are grown in a controlled environment. The only difference is in the way they form and this will be evident in their internal growth patterns and crystal markings. They will also react differently under gem testing equipment as a result of the flux solution and process of manufacture.
3. How are laboratory-grown diamonds made?
Unlike natural diamonds which grow in the Earth’s mantle and a large volume of destruction to the environment is needed to excavate them, laboratory-grown diamonds do not need such invasive measures and can be created in laboratories above ground. If you have ever bought one of those children’s crystal growing kits you might get an idea of how crystals form in a very basic way.
With laboratory-grown diamonds, there are 2 different ways to grow them:
1. CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) This method can produce a small diamond in as little as two weeks and requires a large volume of hydrogen and methane gasses.
2. HPHT (High Pressure, High Temperature.) This method is the more common one and can take up to three months to create a larger diamond. Graphite, nickel, cobalt, iron amongst other raw minerals are required to start the process.
Both methods cost about the same to produce diamonds but just have different methods and different rates of success.
The more common HPHT diamond formation process begins with a small diamond seed crystal that is placed into a growth chamber. The diamond seed is exposed to intense pressure around 870,000 pounds per square inch and intense heat of around 1300-1600 degrees celsius. Within the capsule, a carbon starting material, such as graphite, dissolves in a molten flux consisting of metals such as iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) or cobalt (Co), which lowers the temperature and pressure needed for diamond growth. In this environment, consequently, a diamond begins to form around the seed.
The diamonds under the HPHT method will grow with both flat tabular cubic faces and ochtahedral faces from the diamond “seeds.” A natural diamond will only grow in an octahedral form (and also takes 1-3.3 billion years in the Earth’s mantle!) while a CVD lab-grown diamond will only grow in cube form with flat tabular faces. The HPHT method, then is a blend of both. On average they take about 4 months to grow lab depending.
Like natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds once grown will follow the same pathway going to a diamond lapidarist (gem cutter) in a cutting centre, for example, in India to be shaped and polished into the final form. It then goes on to be sold through various channels of traders and retailers.
4. Are laboratory-grown diamonds rare?
Laboratory-grown diamonds are not rare at all! Anything man-made in a factory environment is not rare and can be reproduced quickly. Laboratory-grown diamonds can be grown in 4 months. Laboratory-grown diamonds are also not new. They have been used for industrial purposes for decades but until recently the technology wasn’t available to grow gem-grade quality diamonds for jewellery. Even now, only 5 % of the world’s diamonds are used in jewellery. The rest is for industrial and technological use! The majority of the laboratory-grown diamonds are made in Asia, predominantly China and India. They have produced a large yield in such a short time frame that they have flooded the market resulting in a rapid decrease in prices. We are also noticing that the gap between a 1.0 ct and a 2.0 ct is closing. We are seeing significantly lower prices for the same size stones we bought for jewellery a year ago. Laboratory-grown stones do not hold their value and we need to make customers aware of this at the time of purchase.
5. Why are laboratory-grown diamonds increasing in popularity?
We use both natural and laboratory-grown stones and are happy to advise our clients on both to create their perfect piece of jewellery. We are honoured to be part of designing something truly unique and, for us, customer satisfaction is at the forefront of our service. We want our customers to feel they can have their dream jewellery and that is important. Naturally, we cannot speak for the whole industry but in our experience we have seen an increase for laboratory-grown diamonds mostly for three reasons:
1. The younger generations are aiming to get on the property ladder first and want to buy a larger and higher quality diamond as an engagement ring for a more affordable and attainable price. Interestingly, though some buy a laboratory-grown diamond with the view of upgrading it to a natural later down the line. Others see laboratory-grown diamonds as an accessible way to have higher-end quality “fashion jewellery.”
2. Some people are becoming more concerned about the ethical side of the industry, the sustainability and environmental impact and want an alternative option for diamonds that aligns more with their own values.
3. Unfortunately, crime is another reason for some of our clients. After being broken into and having had jewellery stolen, some of our clients have decided to replace their jewellery with laboratory-grown stones instead whilst others are wanting replicas of their higher end pieces or heirloom jewellery so they can take them abroad on holiday without fear of losing them.
6. Are diamonds generally a good investment?
In our opinion, diamonds are not really investment products. Loose laboratory-grown diamonds are definitely not investment products. Even natural diamonds do not increase in value over time very much and last year actually decreased slightly. It is more likely to be the gold in the jewellery that increases more in value. Like any commodity, fluctuations in the market due to economical and political factors can result in increases and decreases in value and we cannot see into the future. But we recommend liaising with a financial advisor on this subject as our expertise lies in jewellery manufacturing and not financial investment portfolios.
It can be argued though that depending on an item’s provenance and who designed it, a couture piece of high jewellery might increase in value and be seen as an investment but this is very subjective and we recommend consulting experts on this. We believe you should purchase jewellery because you love it, love the craftsmanship and enjoy wearing it.
7. Are laboratory-grown diamonds ethical?
This is a really complex topic and there is no simple nor easy way to answer this. Firstly, you need to ask yourself what does the word “ethical” mean to you? Ethical is always subjective and is a popular label alongside “sustainable” and “environmentally friendly” now used in many industries. What someone might consider ethical practice might not be ethical to another depending on a multitude of personal and professional background experiences, education, industry and the country you reside in. And how do you measure ethical practices? By what guideline or which authority? And against what values and statistics does that authority base its assessments?
Firstly, for synthetic materials, the initial stage involves producing the rough ingredients before we can simply push a button and make diamonds grow in a laboratory environment. Even laboratory-grown diamonds created by the HPHT method need graphite, nickel, cobalt and iron in order to be manufactured. It is important to remember that most of these initial materials required to create synthetic gemstones still need to be mined first. So mining still has to happen to create laboratory-grown stones. In the CVD process of manufacturing laboratory-grown diamonds we need hydrogen and methane which essentially comes from burning fossil fuels. We aren’t advocating that mined natural diamonds are better nor are we justifying large mass destruction for mining, more trying to put the point across that laboratory-grown diamonds are not free of mining processes in order to be made and claims that no mining happens with laboratory-grown stones are incorrect.
There is a lot of greenwashing in the jewellery industry for laboratory-grown diamonds and this can be confusing for the consumer. Some companies selling laboratory-grown diamond jewellery in America have been sued for their superlative claims of being “ethical” which they could not prove and there is much infighting between natural diamond and laboratory-grown diamond companies. This only hurts the jewellery industry as a whole and we believe there is a place and clientele for both.
There are a couple of laboratories in the US who pride themselves on only using green energy and their prices are much higher but realistically the majority of laboratory-grown diamonds are grown in India and China. We know that those countries rely heavily on coal to run their businesses and because they are in Asia we are not privy to their consumption statistics on coal and other chemicals and what impact this is having on their environments. Do their governments monitor this at all and are these statistics accurate? We know that labs need a lot of power to create diamonds and there is very much wastage from diamond seeds that fail. If a large majority end up in waste material which cannot be recycled, are we then merely shifting the problem rather than solving it? On the whole, though, they do not require as much mass destruction of environments in order to be created if we do not consider the mining for their initial base ingredients.
One scientist, Sofie Boons, working on her doctorate at Bristol UWE has managed to create corundum (ruby) from waste stones but the new prototype so far is not very attractive and full of inclusions. It is dull and lacks that fire and what makes it alive with sparkle. Do we then have to change our perception of what beautiful is and learn to love that which is not desirable in order to be sustainable and eco-friendly? Perhaps in time scientists can create beautiful looking stones from waste material instead of growing laboratory-grown stones from scratch. Here is a link to the news article on her work for further reading: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/news/ruby-grown-in-platinum-ring.
Secondly, there are many laboratories and laboratory depending we do not know if their employees are paid fairly, if they have fair employment practices like equal pay, sick pay or paid holiday or even holiday entitlement. Do they have an 8 hour working day with breaks or longer hours? What about health and safety in the workplace? We do not know these things. Who owns these laboratories—who are the shareholders? Again, at the consumer level we do not know without extensive research.
The jewellery industry is constantly looking for ways to improve its practices and the Responsible Jewellery Council has just released a standard guideline on laboratory-grown diamonds to ensure both the people and the planet are being protected. You can read more here:
Thirdly, the diamonds once grown need to be flown all over the world to gem traders so there is a carbon footprint. With anything there are always two sides to every story and many of these laboratories are very private about how they grow diamonds and what goes on inside their factories. There are always pros and cons to both mining and laboratory-grown processes and we will also write an article on mining to give you a balanced view to help you choose the right option for you.
The best approach is to do your research, ask questions and see what aligns closest to your own personal values. Most laboratories-grown stones will be sold through online trading platforms via a gemstone company, not the laboratories directly, and what we do know is that the traders we buy from are trustworthy, legitimate and reputable and also have clear guidelines on their business practices.
In the jewellery industry there has to be a lot of trust because the stones whether natural or laboratory-grown are not easily accessible. Jewellers cannot physically go to individual countries, to the mines and laboratories and buy the stones directly at source because this would be incredibly expensive and would have to be reflected in the end price the consumer pays. We have to trust that to the best of our knowledge and to the knowledge of our partners that we are buying stones with the best of intentions and that checks, controls and measures have been adhered to along the entire chain. This is also where the Kimberley Process (2002) and The System of Warranties (2003) from the World Diamond Council comes into play but this is more for natural stones.
If a company is advertising itself as ethical then there has to be an element of trust but also that company needs to be incredibly transparent in what ethical means to them and how they measure or define this according to their company manifesto. They also need to provide evidence supporting what makes them ethical. You cannot simply claim to be ethical.
At Timothy Roe Fine Jewellery we are selective about who we work with and know that our suppliers and gemstone dealers share the same values and business etiquette. We put great value on transparency, integrity and making sure fair and legal practices are maintained.
If you are curious or have any questions about laboratory-created stones let us show you some stunning pieces we have made in our onsite workshop. Feel free to look at our laboratory-grown diamond jewellery on our website shop or book an appointment to see us about having something bespoke made.
Useful links for further reading:
The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) have recently (2024) released their guidance notes on environmental claims and advise jewellers on careful wording when it comes to marketing jewellery. This is important for both retailers and consumers. Read more here.
For our blog article on how we repurpose gold in the jewellery industry click the image below or find our articles via the following link: https://www.timothyroe.com/articles
How Do We Recycle Gold At Timothy Roe Fine Jewellery?
